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March 6, 2013

Mary Jo White Hearing Set for March 12

Senate Banking to also consider nomination of Richard Cordray as CFPB director

Client Commission Practices and Soft Dollars
RIAs should always evaluate whether the products and services they receive from broker-dealers are appropriate. The SEC suggested that an RIAs failure to stay within the scope of the Section 28(e) safe harbor may violate the advisors fiduciary duty to clients, so RIAs must evaluate their soft dollar relationships on a regular basis to ensure they are disclosed properly and that they do not negatively impact the best execution of clients transactions.

The Senate Banking Committee announced late Monday that it will hold a hearing next Tuesday to consider the nomination of Mary Jo White to be the next chairwoman of the SEC.

The committee will also consider the nomination of Richard Cordray to be director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

A vote on the nominees will be scheduled for a later date, the committee said.

Once the Senate Banking Committee has its hearing, the full Senate can confirm white (left) the next day, or a day later, so she could replace current SEC Chairwoman Elisse Walter by mid-March.

One comment from an SEC official at the SEC Speaks conference in Washington in late February put Mary Jo White’s presence at the agency at “30 days” away.

On Friday, the SEC published its request for public comment on its rule to put brokers under a fiduciary mandate. White’s arrival at the agency puts a big question mark on how the agency will move forward with a fiduciary rule.